


Starry Skies and Musical Guys

by thetiniestnerd



Category: Hot Wheels: Battle Force Five
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 08:12:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14076657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetiniestnerd/pseuds/thetiniestnerd
Summary: Zoom can’t seem to find Vert anywhere in the Hub or the apartment above. On a whim, he goes up to the roof to check, and lo and behold, there’s Vert. Zoom’s surprised by what he finds though; Vert’s playing guitar, and he can sing. Intrigued, Zoom wanders over and requests a song. And then another. And another.You know how it goes.





	Starry Skies and Musical Guys

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LacePendragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LacePendragon/gifts), [Lyssita_Lennon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyssita_Lennon/gifts).



> I wrote this entire thing at Relay for Life, and it's currently 3:30 in the morning as I'm posting this. If there are mistakes, blame the lack of sleep and the loud as fuck music.  
> Otherwise, I just wanted to write Vert being a corny ass motherfucker and playing guitar on the roof. It's cute, it's gay, it's pure. Enjoy.

Zoom had spent the last hour scouring the Hub and the apartment for Vert. He’d wanted to do some practice on the track with him, maybe work on some stuff with Skyknife if they could get away with it. But he couldn’t find him anywhere. He’d checked every corner, and asked all the others. Well, except for Stanford and Agura. They’d left for Zeke’s a few hours prior and still weren’t back. Zoom wasn’t suspicious  _ at all _ . 

So he was left with no Vert and nowhere left to check. The others were all busy too, doing maintenance or helping with research or something equally important and boring. Zoom sighed as he climbed the stairs up to the loft again. If he couldn’t find Vert, he might as well crash on the couch and watch a movie or something, right?

He reached the top of the stairs and glanced around the open living area. He felt a cool breeze wrap around his ankle and frowned. The windows were all sealed; they didn’t open in this part of the apartment. Where could the breeze be coming from?

Zoom glanced around and located the source; the door to the roof was open just a crack.  _ Must be Vert _ , he thought. The door had a habit of getting stuck if you didn’t prop it open, and the door at the top of the stairs was straight-up broken. It was on the “to-fix” list.

Zoom climbed the echoing metal stairs up to the roof. He thought he could hear music. Not that that was the weirdest thing that he’d heard up there. He’d learned from the brothers about something called “rock hit rock” a few weeks ago. It was a game, or at least it was according to them.  _ That  _ was weird, although he had to admit it was fun.

The door at the top of the stairs listed on its hinges, as always, and Zoom peered around it. Vert was sitting on one of the old benches in the middle of the roof with his back to Zoom, a guitar in his lap.  _ I didn’t know he played guitar, _ Zoom thought. He started to step forward, about to say something, when Vert started to play.

And then he started to  _ sing _ . 

_ Wow. _

Zoom didn’t recognize the song, but he didn’t care. Vert’s voice was what caught his attention. It was  _ gorgeous _ . Zoom was entranced, listening to this song that he didn’t recognize coming from Vert. He only got through a few lines before he stopped abruptly, sighed, and reached for something next to him. It was a notebook, which Zoom hadn’t noticed before. Was he  _ writing _ the song?

How much dreamier could a guy get? Seriously.

Vert started up again in the same spot, but Zoom could hear a slight difference to the way he played. He couldn’t describe it - he didn’t know the first thing about guitars - but he thought he liked the first version better. 

Vert stopped again at the same spot, making another note.  _ Should probably stop being a creeper, _ Zoom thought. He coughed, and then had to fight back a laugh at the way Vert jumped. He swung around to see Zoom, who waved sheepishly.

“Zoom, what’re you..?” Vert trailed off, his brow furrowed. 

“You said you wanted to practice earlier,” he replied, walking over to where Vert sat. He rubbed at the back of his head and shifted from foot to foot for a few seconds. Then he flopped down onto the concrete a few feet in front of him. “I didn’t know you played guitar. Or sang.”

Vert flushed and looked away, rubbing at the back of his head. “Ah, yeah. I… It never really seemed relevant?”

Zoom chuckled. “Yeah, I guess only Stanford gets to use music to kick butt.” Vert snorted at that. “What were you playing, by the way?”

Vert stiffened slightly. “Ah, it’s nothing. Just a little song I’ve been working on.”

“It’s nice,” Zoom said. Vert blushed a little deeper. “I’d love to hear it.”

Vert’s eyes widened and he blew out short breath. “I, uh, don’t think it’s... ready.” He sounded so unsure and awkward, Zoom felt a little bad for asking.

“That’s cool,” he replied. “You could always play something else?”

Vert cocked his head slightly. The stiffness had left his shoulders a bit, but he still looked really unsure and generally confused. Like a puppy. 

“Like what?” He asked.

“I dunno, whatever you want.” Zoom shrugged.

Vert pursed his lips and glanced up at the sky, humming. After a few seconds, he looked back down at his guitar, smiled softly, and shifted his hands. 

He started to play, and Zoom shifted so that he had one knee drawn up to his chest. He hooked an arm around it and rested his chin on top, content.

“ _I was scared of dentists and the dark._ __  
_I was scared of pretty girls and starting conversations._ __  
_Oh, all my friends are turning green._ __  
_You're the magician's assistant in their dreams._ __  
_Oh,_ _  
_ __Oh and they come unstuck. ”

Zoom vaguely recognized the song from the radio, or at least he thought he did. 

“ _Lady, running down to the riptide,_ __  
_Taken away to the dark side,_ __  
_I wanna be your left hand man._ __  
_I love you when you're singing that song and_ __  
_I got a lump in my throat 'cause_ __  
_You're gonna sing the words wrong._ __  
_Is this movie that I think you'll like._ __  
_This guy decides to quit his job and heads to New York City._ __  
_This cowboy's running from himself,_ _  
_ __And she's been living on the highest shelf. ”

He was pretty sure that he liked Vert’s version better.

Zoom listened through the next chorus. Vert’s voice really was gorgeous. He was looking down at his guitar as he played, which made his bangs fall across his face a little bit. Zoom almost wanted to reach up and push them out of the way. He wanted to see Vert’s eyes.

He didn’t do it though.

“ _I just wanna, I just wanna know,_ __  
_If you're gonna, if you're gonna stay._ __  
_I just gotta, I just gotta know,_ __  
_I can't have it, I can't have it any other way._ __  
_I swear she's destined for the screen,_ _  
_ __Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen, oh. ”

Vert leaned his head back a little as he sang, and Zoom gasped. He looked  _ stunning _ ; he looked happy. He was smiling, his eyes shut as he threw back his head and sang into the night sky. 

It was the smile that really held Zoom’s attention. A little crooked, but so genuine it  _ hurt _ . He wanted to see it more. He watched as Vert sang the chorus the last three times. He bent his head forward again, and on the last chorus he opened his eyes. He was still looking down at his guitar.

Zoom wanted him to look up.

Vert finished the song with a sigh. He was flushed, but it was different now. Less embarrassment and more exhilaration. He grinned down at his guitar and shook his head. “I’m not used to singing in front of people,” he confessed. He didn’t speak much above a whisper, but Zoom could hear him fine. There was nothing else to hear on the roof at night, after all. 

“You were really good,” Zoom replied. He found that his voice was also hushed. 

“Thanks.”

Zoom smiled up at Vert for a few seconds. He didn’t move at first, just staring down at his guitar. “Would..?” Vert looked up as he started to speak, and for a second Zoom forgot what he’d been about to say. “Would you play another song?”

Vert chuckled and grinned, looking back down at his feet. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

Zoom tried not to think about the heat in his cheeks.

Vert fidgeted with his notebook for a few seconds before settling his hand on the neck of the guitar again. Zoom watched eagerly, resting his chin on his knee. It was a little chilly, on the roof with nothing to block the wind, but he didn’t mind. 

“ _Waking up to kiss you and nobody's there._ __  
_The smell of your perfume still stuck in the air._ __  
_It's hard._ __  
_Yesterday I thought I saw your shadow running round._ __  
_It's funny how things never change in this old town_ __  
_So far from the stars._ __  
_And I want to tell you everything_ __  
_The words I never got to say the first time around._ __  
_And I remember everything_ __  
_From when we were the children playing in this fairground._ _  
_ __Wish I was there with you now. ”

Another one Zoom recognized from the radio. It was cute. Vert seemed to be a bit more relaxed too; he was singing more openly now, and he was smiling more and more. 

“ _If the whole world was watching I'd still dance with you,_ __  
_Drive highways and byways to be there with you._ __  
_Over and over the only truth;_ __  
_Everything comes back to you._ __  
_I saw that you moved on with someone new,_ __  
_In the pub that we met she's got her arms around you._ __  
_It's so hard._ _  
_ __So hard. ”

Zoom wondered what dancing with Vert would be like. He’d probably lead, not that Zoom minded.

Maybe he’d ask him sometime.

_ Ha _ .

The rest of the song mostly repeated the lines from the beginning. Something about the lyrics seemed a little different, but Zoom could barely remember the chorus, so he chalked it up to poor memory. When he finished, Vert looked up and grinned. 

Zoom swore his heart stopped for a second. 

“Lemme guess,” Vert teased, leaning forward over his guitar a little bit. “Another song?”

Zoom laughed despite how hard it was to breathe all of a sudden, hiding his grin - and blush - behind his hand. “Yeah.” 

Vert nodded, still grinning, and started up the next song.

“ _Got a guy from the south side, got bands in his hair._ __  
_First time I seen him walk by, man, I 'bout fell off my chair._ __  
_Had to get his number, it took me like six weeks._ __  
_Now me and him go way back like Cadillac seats._ __  
_Body like a back road, drivin' with my eyes closed._ __  
_I know every curve like the back of my hand._ __  
_Doin' 15 in a 30, I ain't in no hurry._ _  
_ __I'mma take it slow just as fast as I can. ”

Zoom was  _ sure _ , this time, that Vert was changing the lyrics. He knew this one from Vert playing it in the garage when he thought no one else was around to make fun of him being a closet country nerd. 

The song was about a girl, for sure.

Why was he changing it?

“ _The way he fit in them blue jeans, he don't need no belt._ __  
_But I can turn them inside out, I don't need no help._ __  
_Got hips like honey, so thick and so sweet._ __  
_It ain't no curves like his on them downtown streets._ __  
_Body like a back road, drivin' with my eyes closed._ __  
_I know every curve like the back of my hand._ __  
_Doin' 15 in a 30, I ain't in no hurry._ _  
_ __I'mma take it slow just as fast as I can. ”

Zoom chanced a glance at Vert’s face. He wasn’t looking at Zoom, but he was blushing like  _ crazy _ . He was almost the same colour as the Saber. Zoom watched as he finished the song, grinning a little as he realized that Vert was replacing the claps in the song by tapping the front of his guitar.  _ He’s so damn  _ good _ at it, _ Zoom thought.

“ _We're out here in the boondocks._ __  
_With the breeze and the birds._ __  
_Tangled up in the tall grass_ __  
_With my lips on his._ __  
_On the highway to heaven_ __  
_Headed south of his smile._ __  
_Get there when we get there,_ __  
_Every inch is a mile._ __  
_Body like a back road, drivin' with my eyes closed._ __  
_I know every curve like the back of my hand._ __  
_Doin' 15 in a 30, I ain't in no hurry._ __  
_I'mma take it slow just as fast as I can._ __  
_I'mma take it slow_ __  
_Just as fast as I can._ __  
_(Body like a back road)._ _  
_ __(Drivin' with my eyes closed).

 _Got bands in his hair._ _  
_ __(I know every curve like the back of my hand). ”

Vert was really,  _ really _ trying to change the song. The “lips on his” line didn’t even sound right. “You changed it,” Zoom declared.

Vert blushed a little harder, if that was even humanly possible at that point. “I, uh. Yeah.” He rubbed at the back of his neck with one hand, the other still on the neck of his guitar.

“I… like it,” Zoom mumbled.

Vert smiled, but he still didn’t look up. “Thanks,” he replied softly. He let his hand drop back to the guitar and plucked at the strings idly. He wouldn’t meet Zoom’s eyes.

Zoom was about to press him on the changes more when he recognized what he was playing, or at least kind of playing.

“Is that fucking  _ Tangled _ ?” Zoom asked. Vert startled, head snapping up and eyes finally meeting Zoom’s. He laughed.

“Yeah. I, uh. I like Rapunzel,” he replied.

Zoom grinned. “Play it.”

Vert grinned back, and there was a gentle twist to it. He dropped his gaze back to the neck of the guitar, adjusting his hand. “It’s been a while since I played this one.”

“That’s okay,” Zoom replied easily. “I don’t mind.”

It took him a few tries to find the right chord, but once he did, it was like he’d been practicing the song the whole time. Vert’s voice was softer this time; quieter. Zoom watched as the slow smile spread across his face, as he relaxed into playing.  _ This _ was Vert; soft, happy,  _ beautiful _ . 

Zoom could watch him forever.

“ _All those days, watching from the windows._ __  
_All those years, outside looking in._ __  
_All that time, never even knowing_ __  
_Just how blind I've been._ __  
_Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight._ __  
_Now I'm here, suddenly I see._ __  
_Standing here, it's all so clear,_ __  
_I'm where I'm meant to be._ __  
_And at last I see the light,_ __  
_And it's like the fog has lifted._ __  
_And at last I see the light_ __  
_And it's like the sky is new._ __  
_And it's warm and real and bright,_ __  
_And the world has somehow shifted._ __  
_All at once everything looks different_ _  
_ __Now that I see you. ”

The music faded into the instrumental bit between Rapunzel’s part and Flynn’s, and Zoom found himself caught in a dilemma. He could join in. He could sing Flynn’s part.

_ But Vert might freak out _ .

_ But he was changing the other romance songs. _

_ They might not have been about you _ , he told himself.

_ Fuck it. _

Vert opened his mouth to sing Flynn’s part, but Zoom cut him off.

“ _All those days, chasing down a daydream._ __  
_All those years, living in a blur._ __  
_All that time never truly seeing_ __  
_Things, the way they were._ __  
_Now he's here, shining in the starlight._ __  
_Now he's here, suddenly I know._ __  
_If he's here, it's crystal clear,_ _  
_ __I'm where I'm meant to go. ”

Vert’s head shot up, and his hands stumbled for a second, but he quickly corrected himself and kept playing. He watched Zoom, eyes wide. Zoom smiled. By the time he’d reached the end of Flynn’s part, having changed the pronouns, he swore that Vert’s eyes were a little teary. He continued into the shared part at the end, and Vert’s voice joined in.

“ _ And at last I see the light. _ ”

Vert fell silent again. Zoom couldn’t help but wonder if he was actually teary, or if he was making it up.  
“ _And it's like the fog has lifted._ ”  
Vert joined back in again, and Zoom remembered at the last minute that the next line was just his.

“ _ And at last I see the light. _ ”

Zoom let his own voice drop out, smiling up at Vert. He was red from his neck to the tips of his ears.

It was kind of adorable.

“ _ And it's like the sky is new. _ ”

Zoom had been right. Vert was choked up. 

Was it possible he  _ wasn’t _ making it all up?

He hated to think he was jumping to conclusions, but...  
“ _And it's warm and real and bright,_ __  
_And the world has somehow shifted._ __  
_All at once, everything is different,_ __  
_Now that I see you._ __  
  


_ Now that I see you. _ ”

They barely made it through the last line. Vert was choking up to the point where he could barely sing, and Zoom found himself in the same position. He hadn’t even realized that he was teary, but here he was. Staring at Vert and tearing up, openly. 

He hoped, desperately, that this wasn’t a mistake. 

“Zoom,” Vert whispered. He shifted his guitar to the empty space on the bench next to him. He wiped at his cheek with one hand, laughing softly. “I’m literally  _ crying _ ,” he mumbled. Zoom was pretty sure he hadn’t meant for him to hear that part.

“Me too,” he whispered back. Vert let out another chuckle. It sounded a little bit like a sob, if Zoom was honest.

Vert reached out a hand to Zoom. His fingers trembled. 

“ _ Zoom, _ ” he whispered again. He was even more choked up. Zoom saw the quiver in his lip, and the fear in his eyes.

Zoom let out a choked gasp and took his hand, clambering forward until he was face to face with Vert. He accidentally bumped his forehead into Vert’s. They both laughed. Zoom tipped his head to the side, and then he was kissing Vert.

He was  _ kissing Vert _ . 

It wasn’t a particularly deep or long kiss. They were both giggling and crying too much to make it last. Vert’s hands cradled Zoom’s face, thumbs tracing over his cheekbones. Zoom had one hand on Vert’s shoulder and the other on his jaw and cheek. He wiped away a few tears, and when Vert ducked his head he kissed the tip of his nose.

Vert snorted and pressed their foreheads together again. Zoom sighed happily. He chose to ignore the shakiness in his breath. 

“I’ve wanted to do that for months,” Vert whispered. Zoom’s eyes were still shut, but he was sure he was smiling in his classic self-deprecating way. 

“Me too,” Zoom replied. He laughed a little. “We’re both idiots, aren’t we?”

Vert laughed too. “Yeah, probably.” He leaned in again, hands trailing down Zoom’s neck to his shoulders. Zoom hummed into the kiss, reaching up to sweep Vert’s hair back. He tried to shift closer, but his knees protested. Huffing, he pulled back and stood up straight. 

“Sorry, my legs hurt,” he said sheepishly. He shifted his weight, trying to work out the tension. He’d forgotten that he’d been sitting on the concrete roof in the cold.

Vert shook his head. “It’s fine.” He reached for Zoom’s hands and held them between the two of them. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

Zoom smiled again, swinging their hands. He tried to pretend that he wasn’t about to cry all over again. “You’re right.” Vert was smiling up at him, his eyes still wet. He was so beautiful under the light of the stars.

Zoom could watch him forever.

And God help him, he would if he could get away with it.

He leaned down again, smiling into the kiss. 

_ Definitely not a mistake.  _

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed.
> 
> BTW, the song Vert was writing was how he was planning to confess to Zoom. That might come up in a future thing.


End file.
